Heartshield 02
by she-who-waits-behind-the-wall
Summary: Sequel to Heartshield 01. When the team goes to America, Apollo has Mari's mother taken off of life support. The devil bats have to go through the entire spring tournament without her. Can Hiruma do it?
1. Prologue: Mari Tanaka

**Heartshield 02**

**Prologue**

**Mari Tanaka**

My hometown, Houston, Texas, was full of good and bad memories. As I stood on the beach, I remembered the good. Just last year when I came back for my summer visit Jay, Fitz, Panther, Big G, Little G and I played in every tournament that the beach had to offer; Football, volleyball, soccer, rugby, lacrosse, water polo. You name it, we took home the gold. The trophies still sit in my bedroom.

This beach meant a lot to the six of us. It was the host of some wild parties and many other things. As I walked to the old pavilion we spent our lazy summer days loitering in I remembered when all of us gathered around the wooden beams as we all took turns carving things. _Fitzy + Mia = unbelievable awsesomeness. Maria Lily Apollo is an asshole. Jeremy Jay Watt takes it up the butt. Big G, Little G, Panther, Fitz, Jay and Mia are the Gods and Goddess of this beach. _and the newest addition. _We miss you Mia, come back home!_

I ran my fingers down the markings and smiled. I pulled out the knife from my pocket and began to carve slowly and carefully. _Dear Fitz, Jay, Panther, Big G and Little G; our beach is lonely without you.. Love, Mia._

My fingers were cramped and splintered when I was done, but I didn't care.

"Do you miss it here?" The sound of Yoichi's voice startled me. I turned to look at him, couldn't think of anything witty to say and turned away. "Of course. I miss my boys, and I miss our beach."

"For the feminine me, you sure are thoughtful." He sat down on the picnic table and read the beam. "Goddess of the beach, huh?" He snorted.

"You bet." I sat down next to him.

"More like succubus, or harpy of the beach."

"You're funny." I punched him lightly on the arm, then stood up to look out at the water. The sky had turned different shades of gray, warning me of a storm, but I had ignored it. I hadn't noticed when It had been sprinkling, or when it had turned into a downpour. "Ugh, I don't want to go out in this." "Too bad." He wrapped his long arms around me and picked me up from the ground to carry me out into the rain. Each drop of water that landed on my body made my skin prickle. I hated the rain sometimes. Especially in Houston. It was too cold for my liking.

"Christ!" I tried to wiggle free but he made me walk away with him. "Are we going back to the hotel?" I asked.

"Yeah." He answered. "You don't mind bunking with manajerk?" He asked. "I mean, you could have stayed with me." "She may be a little mean, and totally OCD, but it's not that bad." I shrugged. Mamori had been acting strangely hostile towards me lately. I mean, when I first came to Deimon she was the first one to step forward and help me with my broken heart, but now she was just…well…being a bitch.

The reason I ended up bunking with Mamori was because I figured it was time I started talking to girls and not all guys. I was starting to become too masculine for my liking.

"Not that bad?" He shook his head and sighed. "If it becomes too much, I'm only a door away. She can get annoying fast."

"But she's a damn good manager." I added.

"Yeah, I'll give her that." He held open the door to the Holiday Inn and we stepped in. He went to his own room, but I didn't go to mine quite yet. I wasn't ready. I snuck back outside and walked around to the back of the building and reached into the backpack I usually kept on my person at all times. Inside was a pack of cigs and a bottle of Jack. Lately, I'd been stressed out beyond belief. I had Fitz send me weekly updates about my mom's condition and apparently her life force was waning unbelievably and she'd probably die before I made it back home. On top of that, even though my father and I were on "Good terms" things still weren't up to par with paradise. I lit my cigarette and shrunk closer to the wall so the overhang would shield my small spark of cigarette from the rain.

I took a sip of the Jack and let it warm me a little more. Alcohol warmed you better than any hot chocolate or coffee ever would. The cool think about it was that it never froze. Bet you hot chocolate would eventually freeze.

Part of me believed coming back to Houston would resolve my problems, maybe get some good feelings back out of it, but I just felt more lonely. I hated being lonely. Sure, Yoichi was my best friend and all, but I missed Fitz, I missed Yosuke who I hadn't heard from in awhile, I even missed Rui. Part of me was still in love with Rui, which I didn't understand. I took a drink in honor of all the people I missed. A sip for Fitz, Yosuke, Rui, Jay, Big G, Little G, Panther, My mom.

I drank until those memories got blurrier and blurrier. Until I just sat down on the pavement and rested my head up against a brick wall. Until the rain dotted my face and a blur in the shape of Fitz knelt down in front of me. His large hand caressed my face...and then he disappeared. I let the tears fall because the rain drops masked them and I cried into my hands until I couldn't stop. Life was supposed to be better now. But for some strange reason, It just wasn't. Being back in Houston just made me want to curl up and die.

I made myself get up from the ground and stagger back into the hotel. Everything just seemed warped. I needed coffee and a nice cold shower.


	2. 1: Envy: Mamori Anezaki

**Heartshield 02**

**Chapter 1 - Envy**

**Mamori Anezaki**

Tanaka staggered into our hotel room drenched and smelling like a mixture of booze and Hiruma's cologne. She immediately began to strip away her clothes and rummage for new ones. "Seriously, you can't do that in the bathroom?" I snapped. Sure, her white sports bra and boy shorts weren't very revealing, but still.

"Chill." She said slowly, choosing a large white t-shirt and a pair of cut-offs. Sometimes, I didn't understand how Hiruma could stand living with her. She was messy, rude and just plain disrespectful.

"Hiruma or someone could walk in and see you." I hissed, eying the door.

"It's not like it's nothing he hasn't seen before." She slurred. "We live together." She rolled her eyes and slipped into the bathroom.

Something about that statement bothered me. Did Hiruma and Tanaka like reach other? They've lived together for quite some time, so something had to have happened. At that moment of thought, Hiruma barged in. I jumped and stared hard at him. His hair was actually quite long when it was damp and down.

"Where's Mari?" He asked.

Not Tanaka, not "Fucking Ginger". Mari. Just Mari. "In the shower." I answered.

To my horror, he just went right in. A minute later Tanaka came out wrapped in only a towel and rummaged through her bag for something. She pulled out a key. "I don't see why it couldn't wait." She grumbled.

"If you hurry up and get your drunk ass in the shower, you can come with me." He shrugged.

"Fine." She went back into the bathroom, leaving me alone with him.

"Are you two like, together?" I asked.

"Maybe, maybe not." he sat down on Tanaka's bed and made himself comfortable. "Why? You jealous, Manajerk?"

Yes. "No."

"That's what I thought." He pulled out his phone.

"Why do you treat her better than everyone if she wasn't someone special?"

"Just because we aren't together doesn't mean she isn't someone special." He frowned. "And wouldn't you like to know what makes her different."

"You like her."

"Because she's different, okay?"

We were both silent when Tanaka came out of the bathroom ready to go. They left to go where they were going so I went to Sena, Kurita, Monta, Komusubi, and Yukimitzu's room.

"Hiruma better be back here with food soon." Sena put his hand over his growling stomach.

"We don't have any money. Where is he getting food?" I asked.

"Apollo told Mari-Chan that we could have the food in his house since they're in Japan." Kurita answered.

"Actually, he gave her run of the whole house." Monta added.

"It's nice to see he's trying." I responded half-heartedly.

"What's wrong, Mamori?" Sena asked.

"Are Hiruma and Tanaka together?" I asked.

"No." Yukimitzu answered. "Do you…like him, Anezaki?"

"NO!" I gasped, looking away. I know that they are not convinced.

I liked Tanaka when she first came to Deimon.

It was when I saw them in the coffee shop together and saw the look in both of their eyes that the hatred and jealousy set in.

When Tanaka and Hiruma walked through the door with bags of food, our conversation was forgotten. As I watched Cerberus nestled on Tanaka's lap after a good meal, I knew she was the toughest competition I had.

"Hiruma-san," I said slowly. "Can I talk to you?"

He sighed, stood up and walked with me out of the room. "What do you want, fucking Manajerk?" I wanted to tell him how I felt, and I needed to. "I am jealous of you and Mari-Chan. And it's because I like you." I immediately turned away with my face aflame.

"You don't think I don't fucking know that? You're hostile towards her for no apparent reason."

"So?"

"Look at that. Mother Anezaki is full of hostility, yet has no remorse." He smirked. "I like it." I froze, not entirely sure how to take it. I said nothing and waited to see what he'd do. At that moment Tanaka walked out to the hall where we stood and went back to our room. I ignored it. "So where does this leave us?" I asked.

"Where do you want it to leave us?"

"Together."

Tanaka stormed out of our room with her bags slung over her shoulder. "Where are you going?" Hiruma called after her.

"Like you care." She said bitterly.

When Hiruma went back into the room where everyone was eating I had no choice but to follow. No one could answer him about why she left so suddenly, or where she was going. "Well, she didn't go back to Apollo's." He pulled a key out of his pocket. "Because she can't get back in."

"Maybe she'll come back on her own." I said, Honestly, I really didn't care.

"You don't know her very well." He turned away.

"This is her hometown. She'll be fine-"

"You really don't know her." He started down the hall. "And obviously, you'd rather it she didn't come back at all."

"Hiruma, wait!" I called out. "You always say when you want something, don't let anything stand in your way." I crossed my arms. "I want you, and Tanaka is in my way." I grabbed his arm and pulled him closer. "She'll come back." I pulled him in the direction of my room.

"You're right." He submitted and let me lead him off.

Mari would be just fine…

Right?

I wouldn't worry about her too much, because right here, and right now, I had Hiruma. I didn't have that little demon girl to jump up and run away from him. As long as she continued to push him, and everyone else, away he would stay with me. It was about time that Mari beat someone in her own damn game. Who did she think she was, swooping up and pulling Hiruma away when I had worked so hard to almost get him?

Well, Mari Tanaka was out of the picture for now, so I'd bask in the glory until she came back. Then we'd see who had won over his affections. Maybe Tanaka could deal with envy and pure hatred for awhile. It was really starting to wear me down.

**Review(:**


	3. 2: Venom: Shein Mushanokoji

**Heartshield 02**

**Chapter 2 - Venom**

**Shein Mushanokoji (The Kid)**

_((Author's note: I know Houston isn't very accurate in this fic, but this is how it was portrayed in Eyeshield 21. Obviously it isn't accurate with its California and Florida like beaches and Pennsylvania weather. BTW, I'm not dead! I just had hardcore writer's block…))_

Texas nights were relaxing. The stars were always out, the air was always warm, the moon always seemed to light the whole sky. The sounds of crickets and locusts rang out as I walk the town of Houston after hours. I was positive I was the only one on the street until I saw a girl walking with a large backpack and a huge tote bag of a purse slung over her shoulder. Her hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail, her large t-shirt fell off her shoulders and her shorts were cut dangerously short. She looked like a typical traveler. But as I got closer, I realized she wasn't a typical traveler, but Mari Tanaka, the strategist for the Deimon Devil Bats. Before she ever became known, Yoichi Hiruma was just scary on his own, but with her, they were one impossible mind game.

She walked under a streetlight, which illuminated her tear streaked face. As she walked past me I could smell a mixture of apples, lily, and the faintest scent of liqueur. I shrugged her presence off and continued back to Ben Ranch. I opened the door to the ranch house and found everyone lounged around the living room. Tetsuma sat off away from everyone else and read a book in a lounge chair. When I stepped in, he looked up at me and then back down at his book.

"How was your walk?" He asked. It was rare that anyone besides me heard him talk. He usually answered with grunts and never asked questions, but we had been childhood friends and it seemed like sometimes we only had each other.

"Relaxing." I said as I pulled up a wooden stool and sat down next to him. "What are you reading?"

"The Great Gatsby. It's actually very interesting." He folded the corner of the page he was on and shut the book before placing it on the end table next to him. "Most American Literature is."

"I'm sure the Americans your age around here will disagree with you." I smirked at him and looked around. The ranch house was nice with its white and gray bordered walls, oak floors, Amish made rugs from Pennsylvania, small game mounted on the walls, big game lurking in the corners. My personal favorite was a giant stuffed grizzly next to the couch. It looked so ominous and scary, yet calm and serene. "Well, I'm heading on up to bed. We have training early tomorrow." I let out a long yawn and murmured a quick "Good Night.".

I let myself into the two bed room that I was to share with Tetsuma and let myself fall face first into the pillowed abyss. I loved the feel of the cool sheets under my body as I let my tired eyes close and I drifted away into dream land.

XxX

The next morning, I felt as if I had been soaked in the night. My skin was sticky and drenched with sweat. I felt as if I were melting. After a quick shower and a change of clothes that didn't make me want to sweat out of them and dehydrate on the side of the road like a overworked donkey. I decided to hitchhike and then take a walk in a nicer part of the city with the big beautiful houses that I had enjoyed even before I came here with Doc and the team. My father used to like to vacation here, and he didn't expect us to dress like stereotypical cowboys.

One of my favorite houses was the Apollo house. It was a big two story with a large stone front and a black, large windowed front door. The siding around the rest of the house was beige. The bay windows on the first window were freshly cleaned, window boxes of flowers hang from the top floor. A stone pathway went from the two car garage paved driveway to the front door. The grass was nicely watered and green. A wooden sign hung from the top of the garage. It read _The Apollos_ in beautifully carved calligraphy, and in smaller, neat letters it read _Leonard, Jeremy, Maria_ underneath it. This had been Mari Tanaka's childhood home. She had left it for a small apartment where she lived with a crazed demon, and the only reasons any of us could figure why she left was because she was either being beaten or molested. But judging by her hard, bitter personality, she had definitely been beaten. I have seen the scars on her arms.

"It _looks _beautiful, but I like to call it the Hell House." A voice piped in from behind me. I turned to look at the hungover mess of a girl that stood behind me. Her red hair was tied into a messy ponytail. She wore glasses so the sun wouldn't murder her eyes. "What are you doing here, Kid?" She asked, glaring at me.

"Contemplating on going bandito on your house. Anything worth stealing in there?" I said, rolling my eyes. "I'm walking. Admiring the scenery. Not all of Houston is poor and ugly."

"I really wish I could just burn this house down without being charged with arson. It's a dream of mine." She crossed her arms.

"Why aren't you with your team?" I asked her, worried about her wellbeing. Part of me thought she could possibly be on drugs or high. Why had she left them?

"I don't have a team anymore." She snorted. "As of last night. I'm no longer a Devil Bat. And I have nowhere to stay." She giggled. "Last night, I slept in some strange guy's car. Bastard tried to touch me. I bonked him on the head and locked him out, and snuck out while he was still asleep this morning."

I felt accountable now if I woke up one day and saw on the news that a young girl had been raped and murdered and left to rot in an alley somewhere. "Look, my team is staying at Ben Ranch. I can take you to go get your belongings, and you can shower and you can sleep on my bed until you're in a better state. Bad news though, there's no alcohol on the farm. Can you survive?"

"I'm not an alcoholic. I just had a bad night." She snapped. "But I'll take your offer. Are you staying for the summer?"

"Yes Ma'am." I put my arm around her shoulder and tried to ignore the smell of booze. "Alright, I seriously need to fix you up before you go back to that hotel." We stopped at a CVS and I picked up soap, cheap perfume, a toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo and deodorant. After she cleaned herself up in the bathroom and dried her hair under a hand dryer, she came out. She looked a little better, and I gave her my shirt to wear. She threw hers in a garbage. "Promise me you'll practice good hygiene staying with us."

"No promises." She scowled. Her hotel was only about ten minutes from the CVS, and Ben Ranch was a decently long way out away from the city lines. I didn't want to hitchhike and put a lady in danger, so I decided I'd probably have to get a hold of Doc to bring the truck out and come get us. I called him on the way there, and he cussed up a storm until we got to the elevator of the hotel.

The hallway of the fifth floor had peeling floral wallpaper and green doors. It was ugly and tacky and depressing and the look on Mari's face showed that it was taking it's toll. I watched her pound on the door to room 502 until Yoichi Hiruma pulled the door open with a look of boiling rage on his face.

"Where the fuck were you?" He demanded. I could see a vein was pulsing in his neck.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She pushed her glasses up to rest on her head like a small tiara. She handed him a small yellow envelope. Every team captain knew what lay inside one. A resignation. "I'm part of your stupid team anymore. I'm not coming back to Japan with you."

"All because I had a fucking one night stand?" He hissed.

Mari's eyes widened. This was news to her. "Well, no. But if you wanna mess around with Mama Anezaki, more power to you, you sick fuck." She let out a bitter chuckle. "That kinda hurts, Yoichi, I won't lie." She turned her head and refused to look at him.

"Then why are you leaving?" He put a hand upon her shoulder.

"My mom died, and my grandma isn't going to pay for our apartment anymore. I have to stay here in Houston. When Leo comes home, he's bringing my stuff with him. You have to do something with your stuff. Maybe you can move in with fucking Mamori or something." She rolled her eyes and walked towards me to room 501. "Kid, can you help me get my stuff?" She asked.

She put a backpack full of toiletries and lingerie on her back and took a duffel back full of shirts, and left me to carry another duffel bag and a backpack with shoes in it. Mamori Anezaki watched her leave with satisfaction. "You're a sore loser, you know that?"

Mari dropped her duffel bag and looked straight at her. "You're not the reason I'm leaving. And go ask Yoichi yourself. You were just a one night stand. I'm leaving because my mother died and I can't go back to Japan, not because someone took pity on your and had sex with you because you were a jealous little cry baby. Yeah, I know why you were such a bitch to me." She stopped to brush her hair out of her eyes. "You were jealous, because Yoichi and I were tight. Fuck, I'll admit it. I loved him. But none of that matters now. So you can just go take your Plan B pill and pray to god Saikyoudai accepts teen mothers."

I wasn't even this poor girl and I wanted to cry. That was the thing about people like Mari Tanaka and Yoichi Hiruma. They were like snakes. They knew exactly where to strike and flood your veins with a crippling venom.


	4. 3: Bitter: Yoichi Hiruma

**Heartshield 02**

**Chapter Three - Bitter**

**Yoichi Hiruma**

I didn't care for people. I didn't love. I didn't cry over anyone. But it sure as hell stung like a bitch watching Mari walk away without looking back. I leaned against the wall and felt my chest get tighter and tighter as she progressed farther towards the elevator. Suddenly, I couldn't take it anymore. I had let her walk away once, I couldn't let her do it again. "Tanaka!" I called her name. She stopped. I walked down the hall after her. "So you're just going to leave like that? You're not going to spend the summer you have left with us?"

"Why should I? It'll just make leaving harder." She pushed the call button for the elevator. "None of us want that."

"No matter when you leave, it'll be hard for me." I murmured. "Unbearably. I'll stay in America with you." I couldn't let her be alone with her father, I couldn't let her leave.

"You're being ridiculous. Your team needs you, what about the Christmas Bowl? Or your football career?"

_None of it matters if I don't have you to celebrate with. I love you. Don't leave. _The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't say them. I didn't love things. Well, I loved Cerberus, and guns. And I loved Mari Tanaka, but it wasn't something I'd ever admit. "What about your safety?" Was my vocal response. "He hit you once, he can hit you again."

"I have Fitz." She said. "And Jeremy isn't afraid of him anymore. And I have Panther, and Big G and Little G. They'll take care of me."

_But I want to take care of you._ "If that's what you want." I turned away from her. "Get your ass out of here."

"Good bye, Yoichi." She stepped into the elevator and rode out of my life. For the first time, I felt a feeling of heartbreak, like someone put a cinderblock me and slowly crushed my chest. I felt so small, like a bug that she just crushed between her fingers. Suddenly, a moment in my life from the school year flooded back to me.

**_I watched as Mari stood confused in front of the tented clubhouse at six' o'clock sharp. I snuck up behind her, clamped my hand over her mouth and wrapped my free arm around her abdomen, pinning both arms to her sides. She gently bit my finger and I let her go. She turned to face me and crossed her arms. "What's with the cover over the clubhouse?"_**

**_"C'mon. I'll show you." I began to walk towards the building and Mari followed behind with her hands in her sweatshirt pockets. The sweatshirt obviously belonged to Habashira considering it was a deep purple with ZOKUGAKU CHAMELEONS printed in bright green on the front with a chameleon on it, and read HABASHIRA down the right arm. Plus, the sleeves were super long. "Do you miss Habashira?" I caught myself asking before I could stop myself._**

**_"That's not something I like to talk about." She answered softly. I had seen this girl get thrown around and slammed into the ground and stand up completely unshaken, but then with the slight mention of Habashira's name she looked like she had just been drug through battle and was close to tears._**

**_"Then why are you torturing yourself by keeping his things around?" I lifted up one of the flaps and Mari crawled under it. We stepped into the newly remodeled clubhouse and walked into the new locker room that had been added. When I turned to ask her what she thought, I saw that she had her back turned to me and she was trying to discreetly wipe tears away with her sleeve. "Why waste your tears on that idiot?"_**

**_"You've never been in love, have you?" She asked. Of course the answer was no. And she knew that. "When you do, and then have that person you love rip your heart out of your chest and walk away with it you think back to this moment. Only then will you understand."_**

**_"I never plan to be stupid enough to fall in love. It's a useless emotion." I scoffed. I did things alone. Never would I let myself get into the state Mari was in. "An emotion that you shouldn't waste on trash like Rui Habashira."_**

Now, I knew what she had been talking about when if felt as if the person you loved ripped your heart out. Now I was stupid enough to feel this useless emotion called love, and she was stupid enough to have wasted that emotion on trash like me, too. I slowly walked back to my room, locked the door behind me and grabbed one of the bottles of vodka left behind by Mari. I filled the bathtub up with scolding hot water and slowly lowered myself into it. I took a sip of vodka, closed my eyes and slowly lowered my face under the water.

I thought of the moments I shared with her, all the times where we fought over the television, or when I insulted her cooking. I thought of all the times we argued over what plays to use, forms of practice, what kind of laundry soap to buy.

When I couldn't hold my breath anymore, I brought my head above water. When I looked at my skin, it was burned red.

XxX

The next morning, I had the hangover from hell. I spent the first hour of my day clinging to the toilet, throwing everything up. I felt like I was slowly destroying myself until Kurita managed to get someone who owned the motel to unlock the door and pretty much mop me off of the floor. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"She's gone." I put my hand over my eyes to block out the sun. "She took her shit and left."

"Tanaka? You didn't try to stop her?"

"The thought never crossed my mind." I said sarcastically. "You really think I want her to go back to the guy who destroyed her childhood?" As Kurita watched me, I walked over to the bathroom and brushed my teeth, getting rid of the taste of vomit.

"She's different now. She can take care of herself." He tried to make me feel better, but it wasn't working.

"You caught me. I'm not really worried about her being attacked by Apollo again."

"You love her." He said as he made it towards the door. "We're leaving in about fifteen minutes. While you slept all day, I found us all a place to stay. Ben Ranch"

XxX

When we approached the ranch, I caught a glimpse of Kid and Mari throwing beautiful passes. They looked well rested and healthy, unlike me. I had to wear sunglasses or else the sun would kill me, and I still couldn't eat without fighting the urge to vomit. Mari looked over at saw me, and missed Kid's pass completely. It smacked her right in the chest. "Fuck, Kid!" She put her hand where the spiral hit and laughed. They both walked over. It angered me to watch Kid playfully put his arm around Mari's shoulder as he said a quick apology.

"I hope you guys don't mind staying in the barn." Kid crossed his arms. "This girl here took the last room. Stay as long as you need to."

"We don't be staying too long." Kurita smiled. "We'll be starting our training very soon."

Mari stayed far away from us for the two days we were here. Everyone took it personally, but even though I was brokenhearted, I understood where she came from. It was hard just up and leaving everyone you knew, so if you knew you had to leave them then why would you linger?

I overheard Manajerk talking to Jumonji, the leader of the Ha-Ha brothers one night. "Tanaka is just a frigid bitch. Personally I'm happy she's gone." Mamori rolled her eyes. This was a side of her I had never thought I'd see, and I hated it.

"You really don't understand, do you?" Jumonji stood up and began to walk away. "She's sick of being hurt. Remember how bad she fell apart when that Habashira punk left her? Well, now she has to leave Hiruma and she never wants to feel that same way again, so she's distancing herself. You say Tanaka is being a frigid bitch, but in all reality, it's you." He let out a yawn and walked past me as I walked into the room. I leaned against the wall and stared hard at her.

"You better change your attitude, or you can find your own ride back to America." I warned.


	5. 4: Luxury: Mari

**Heartshield 02**

**Chapter Four - Luxury**

**Mari Tanaka**

I didn't want to go back to my old house, but Kid decided I should at least try to face it before I'm forced to with the man that made me hate this beautiful house so much. I walked up to the huge black door and put my key in the lock before taking a deep breath. I felt Kid's hand come down on my shoulder. "I brought your stuff so you could start unpacking a few things. If you'd like, I can stay the night with you for a while." His voice was calm as he removed his hand and picked up the bags from the porch step and carried them into the house.

It looked so modern. Mahogany staircase against the left side of the wall of the living room, large black wrap around couch with beige cushions, stone fire place, black grand piano off to the right that was polished until you could see your reflection, glass top coffee tables, plasma screen hanging off of the wall, shiny mahogany floor, dark gray walls. I looked down at the black mat I was standing on, slid off my black heels and put them off to the side, careful not to scratch the floor. It was definitely new. I walked through the rounded arch to the dining room. New wood floors in there too, this time they were oak. A glass top table that could seat eight sat in the center with eight white cushion chairs, three off to the side, two at the heads of the table. A crystal chandelier hung above our heads, black modern sconces hung on the white walls.

We walked through another door to the black tiled kitchen. Everything was expensive and stainless steel.

"How can he afford this on a high school coach salary?" Kid asked.

"I have no idea." I gasped. "I think he coaches the college too."

We walked back through the house and up the stairs. The first room belonged to my father. He had his own bathroom. The second room belonged to Jay. The third was the bathroom we shared. The final room belonged to me. I opened the door and gasped. The design had been changed completely. When I had left, the walls were covered in white peeling wall paper with yellow flowers printed on it. I had a small day bed with a white swirling frame and yellow blankets. It was the same bedroom I'd had since I was five, when daddy still loved me. Now, two of my bedroom walls were painted a dark lavender with a white border, the other walls white with a lavender border. I had a queen sized bed on a shiny stainless steel frame with white sheets, lavender and gray pillows and a lavender duvet. Lavender curtains covered my giant window, a gray rug sat under my bed so it wouldn't scratch the mahogany floor. I had two white bedside tables with gray shaded lamps and one had an alarm clock. I had a white vanity covered with new things like makeup and hair supplies. It had a white stool with a gray cushion. A gray four light chandelier hung from the ceiling. Over by my door sat another white table with a new stereo.

My closet door had been painted lavender. I opened it to the walk in closet filled with new clothes and shoes, all my size. All a very posh teenage style. "He's been expecting me to come." I frowned. "He planned to take my mother off of life support all this time." On the far side sat a large tri-mirror framed in black. Everything smelled of apple blossom. I had always wanted this life, but was it really worth living and forgiving my father? I walked out of the closet, sat on my bed and cried.

"He's an asshole, Mari. You're sixteen years old. You can leave in two years. Just think, your life will be so much easier. I don't think he _can _push you around anymore."

"What?" I looked at him. How did he know?

"Drop the shit, Mari. It's obvious." He ran his hand over his stubble beard and opened the door that lead to the bathroom. "Holy shit!" He gasped.

I walked in. The bathroom looked different too. His and her glass bowl sinks, stuff for Jay neatly placed on one side, stuff for me on the other. Huge Jacuzzi bathtub inside raised marble, glass shower with a bench, heated white tile floor, turquoise walls with white framed windows. "Wow." I gasped. "I really want to know where he got this money."

Suddenly, I heard a click and a panicked voice. "Who are you, and why are you in my house?"

Both Kid and I raised our hands up in the air and turned around slowly. A woman stood there. She had blonde bangs and her hair was pulled into a ponytail and stabbed with black chopsticks. She wore a tight black suit that showed cleavage and her skirt had a high slash. She was beautiful with clear blue eyes and flawless skin, a perfect body. Suddenly, everything about me felt all wrong. And just as soon as she raised her gun, she lowered it.

"Oh! You're Maria!" She squeeled, sat the gun on the counter and pulled me into a tight hug. She smelled like peony and vanilla. "It's so nice to meet you! I'm Vanessa. I don't think you were supposed to find out about me yet…"

I took another good look at her as she let me out of her grasp. "Who are you?"

"I'm your stepmother."

I gasped and backed up. "Stepmother? Leo never said anything about a stepmother." Then I remembered seeing a wedding band on his finger, and I noticed the huge fucking rock on hers. "Are you the reason our house looks like this?"

"Yes, darling. I'm an supermodel."

"And you're with my father?" I laughed. "Seriously. You're fucking beautiful. And he's a fucking loser."

"Ah, hostile girl. You have a potty mouth too. Not too lady like, but who am I to change you? You're not at all the girl I pictured. When I saw your bedroom before I redid it, I expected an innocent sweet girl. And the only pictures I saw of you were as a child. You're most certainly different now. I tried to find out more about you but when I asked, Jeremy ignored me and your father just told me I'd have to see you to believe you." She gripped my arm. "You obviously play football. If you want, I can take back the clothes I bought you and you can shop for yourself."

"No, no, It's fine." I started to feel dizzy, I couldn't catch my breath. It was too much to take in. Was Vanessa really this nice, or was she a witch. I feared for Kid to leave…

"Good. Who's your friend?" She looked over at Kid.

"Shien Mushanokoji. Call me Kid." He shook her hand.

"Well, Kid. It's just Maria and I for awhile, so why don't you stay with us?" She seemed nervous. I think she was just as afraid of me as I was of her.

"Do we have a cook?" I asked, looking around. Everything was perfect. "Or a maid?"

"No, I'm afraid not. I do the cooking and cleaning. Maybe with another woman around the house I can get help. Why don't you two clean up and I'll start dinner?" Vanessa backed up. "Kid, you can borrow something of Jeremy's and use my bathroom. Maria, you know were everything is." She then blushed. "Or do you prefer Mari? I've gotten used to Maria because that's what your father and brother call you, but I don't know what you like."

"Maria is fine." I said finally.

Vanessa was a great cook. I expected something gross like caviar and a very alive looking lobster. But she had made steak and potatoes and a variety of vegetables and rolls. "These are yeast rolls I picked up from the bakery a bit ago. I just warmed them up. I suggest this honey butter." She put a small tub of honey butter on the table. "And we grew the veggies ourselves."

She dressed down from what she had been wearing. She now wore a green tank top and short khaki shorts. "I should warn you, I'm only 25, so I'm not going to be a very good mother. But you and Jeremy already had mothers, so if you ever need a friend, talk to me. I promise not to go mother postal." She laughed a nervous laugh. "Most of the time I'm home. I won't have a problem going out and doing stuff with you."

"You're old enough to be my sister." I pointed out. "Why are you with my father?"

"Love." She answered. "I don't want to be shallow and marry a jerk. I wanted to marry for love. Now, I know you and your father had a rocky past, but he'll never touch you again. Because I'm sure if he does, you'll have no problem kicking his ass. You're younger and more agile, and you can offer yourself more protection than I can. We really just want you to be happy here. No fear."

Vanessa seemed to good to be true. What if she tried to kill me with that gun as soon as no one was around?


	6. 5: Death March: Kazuki Jumonji

**Heartshield 02**

**Chapter 5: Death March**

**Kazuki Jumonji **

**((Don't worry, the football scenes are coming. I still have the whole entire fucking fall tournament to fit in here. There will be more than enough football. Just let me build up my damn story~))**

If Texas wasn't flat terrain, I'd find a gun and blow my brains out. The hot summer sun, plus pushing this heavy ass truck with fat-ass, little fat-ass, Togano and Kuroki was bad enough. And Hiruma must have been on his period or something, because every two seconds if someone wasn't doing something right, he'd mercilessly try to shoot someone. It's funny what a girl can do to a guy, what a guy would do for a girl, how much someone could change someone else. Tanaka leaving sent him over the edge, it made him run himself harder than anyone else, it made him so angry that I actually was a little wary of him.

I brought my focus back to the truck and pushing it with all of my strength. The other two, Togano and Kuroki were half assing it. I don't even know why I cared about giving 100 percent. I think a little part of me actually liked football. It was nice to show someone who was the boss, to push people down without consequence. I think that was why Rui Habashira liked football, why Tanaka absolutely adored it. It was nice to push someone around instead of being pushed around. It was nice to be a winner, not a loser. The other two didn't understand.

"Nice form, Jumonji." Doburoku peeked over the bed of the truck. For an old man, I heard he was an amazing football player until something happened. I'm guessing it was something to do with his knee, it was fucking shot. "Hiruma sure has this team under control. Is he always this hard on you?"

"No." I admitted. "But he should be. Maybe a couple more people wouldn't slack off."

"You got something to say, Jumonji?" Kuroki stopped pushing the truck, tried pushing me instead. I tackled him straight to the ground. From actually trying and participating, I had gotten stronger. He thought about rushing me again, but I had become a more than worthy opponent. He silently went back to pushing the truck before Hiruma noticed he had stopped.

"What has him so on edge anyways?" The old coach peeked at the running quarterback. "He looks not too far from snapping."

"Some stupid girl." Anezaki interrupted. "If you ask me, I say good riddance. She distracted him too much."

"More like she was the ultimate cock block." I snorted under my breath. I won't lie, I was a little less reluctant to stay on the football team because of her. She had a hot body. Nice face. A lot of Texas girls did.

"Wonder if he tapped that ass before she split. They lived together, after all." Kuroki snickered and gave a little harder of a push. "Tanaka was one fine piece of ass."

"Stop." Kurita said in a soft voice. "You shouldn't treat girls like that."

"That's why you're going to be alone forever, Kuroki." Togano smirked. I was amazed he could still talk, he was so out of breath. Togano was an ass, but at least he respected women.

"I think I could have had a total chance with her." Kuroki continued, snorting. "I mean, if Habashira tapped that, and Hiruma tapped that, she has to be easy."

"What the fuck did you just say?" Suddenly, Hiruma was behind us, pointing his gun at Kuroki's back. Everyone stopped moving, everyone stopped pushing. It was silent.

"You heard me."

When did Kuroki grow balls of steel? No, not steel. Unbreakable diamonds. But in this mood, I really think Hiruma could break diamonds. "Keep her fucking name out of your fucking mouth." He shoved him hard into the truck, his head hit hard, knocked him unconscious. "Carry him." He looked at me. I silently picked Kuroki up off the ground and carried him over my shoulder. I was so sore, but I didn't want to question him. I didn't want to get slammed into the pavement. I liked living.

I was so happy to put lard ass down when we finally stopped to sleep under the stars for the night. My back hurt, and the ground was uncomfortable, but I sucked it up. Togano was wordless as he lay next to me, looking up at the sky. "How can you stand Hiruma and football? Why did you just let him boss you around like that?"

"Kuroki had it coming. He's an idiot." Was my response. "If he talked about Akiko like that, I'd kill him."

"Have you heard from Akiko at all?"

"No. She wasn't too happy that I just packed up and left with a "crazy demon guy" and his "ginger harpy"." I snorted. "Those were her exact words."

Akiko made my life so much easier. When my dad pissed me off, she let me sleep at her house, she treated me better than I deserved. "Hey, she'll be fine." He nudged me. "We're almost to Nevada. I bet she'll be proud of you when she sees you."

Before I could respond, Togano put his hand over my mouth. I could hear Hiruma talking to someone. "I'm being serious." His voice was low, hostile. "I will have you ruined forever."

"Part of me wishes Tanaka was back. This football season is going to be brutal." I whispered before I let myself fall asleep.

XXX

"Ah ha ha!"

I looked over at Kobayakawa out of the corner of my eye. "You go out on your own little adventure, and you bring back an idiot." Taki was his name, and he was going to finish the death match with us.

"We put up with Kuroki. I don't think he'll be too bad." Togano joked. "We have a tight end now, at least."

I continued pushing the truck. We didn't have much more to go. We were in Nevada, we just needed to go a little further. So close I could taste it. Then, our hotel came into view, and I collapsed to my knees. I couldn't go any further. Everyone stopped, looked. Suddenly, Anezaki jumped out of the truck. "You can make it." She coached, pulling me up.

"I can't do it." I clenched my fists.

"Yes you can." She said that as everyone slowly began to collapse. Even Hiruma was staggering. Suddenly, She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and a hilarious scowl filled her face. "Come on, you asshole, get up." She nudged me with her foot. "You guys are pathetic."

Hiruma turned his head. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Yoichi, get the fuck up." She put her fingers in gun formation, pointed at him.

"Don't call me by my first name. I hate it." Hiruma scowled.

"Yo-i-chi." She annunciated it, smiling a recognizable smile. Suddenly, we realized what she was doing.

"You're acting like Tanaka." Kuroki growled, not realizing why she was acting this way, until her name came out of his mouth.

"Contratu-fucking-lations." She rolled her eyes. "So, are you all going to lay on the ground like a bunch of pansies, or are you going to go?"

Anezaki encouraged us all the way to the hotel, a shower and a bed never felt so good.


	7. 6: Sick: Hiruma

**Heartshield 02**

**Chapter Six - Sick**

**Yoichi Hiruma**

**_Sweet mother of God, it's been ages since I added a new chapter. Review? So I know someone is still reading this? :O_  
**

I sunk low in the bathtub, disgusted by my own stink. I smelled like rotting death and pure garbage. All I wanted to do was sleep but the stink was just too unbearable. It even brought tears to my eyes, I was so rancid. By the time I rose out of the bathtub, the water was disgusting and every part of my body felt like it weighed two million tons. I slid boxers up my waist, slowly made my way towards my bed and collapsed face first into my pillows. And even on this angel cloud of a bed, I still couldn't sleep. I pulled my bag close, fished for a needed object in the pockets. Sleeping pills and a photograph that I shouldn't bother keeping.

I took the sleeping pills and as I waited for them to kick in, I studied her face. Suddenly, just looking at her made me sick. Sick with sadness, sick with anger. In the photograph, she was sitting in the shade after a rough practice sticking her tongue out at the camera. Sena had taken it. Her cheeks were red with fatigue, her ponytail was a mess, her gym uniform was rumpled. With the last ounce of strength, I crumpled the photograph in my hand. She was a weakness, and I shouldn't have any. I erased her from my memory just before everything went black.

XxX

At the airport, I realized I had the worst luck in the world as I worked plays on my laptop. I felt Anezaki put her hand on my arm. "Hey, isn't that Apollo?" She asked, looking forward. I stole a glance up at the man who had just gotten off of the plane. No doubt it was Apollo. He and his kid looked so much alike, from the angry green eyes to the pissed off scowl. "Fancy meeting you here, fucking prick." I said, closing my laptop. He glared down at me with the same glare I had received from his stupid fucking daughter so many times before.

"Ah. Always a breath of fresh air, Hiruma." He smugly crossed his arms and looked the other way. "You can keep the apartment, just so you know. Your things are there, there's another month worth of rent. Find your own way to pay the rest though."

"You better go. Don't you have another little girl to beat?" He went to hit me, but something stopped him. Someone grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him back. A mass of wild purple hair and pale skin pulled him back with great strength for a girl. When Apollo walked away, she stopped to look at me. "Fucking eggplant." The purple hair just pissed me off for some reason. I had always hated it.

"Fucking demon." She narrowed her eyes at me and walked away from me. "Good luck in the Fall Tournament." She said lastly.

"We'll be sure to be just fine without you." I said, turning away. We went to board our plane and the whole ride home, instead of thinking about Mari, my mind drifted back towards football. That was all that was important right now. No more distractions. "Manajerk." I caught Anezaki's attention. She looked at me. "Schedule a practice game against Zokugaku. They've been practicing all summer and I want to see how good they've gotten."

Xxx

Rui Habashira stepped onto the field, sleezy combed back hair, unbelievable pride and all. His team followed behind, still not disciplined, but stronger. Megu Tsuyumine walked alongside a girl I had never seen before. She was thin, busty and had bright pink hair. She looked even more ridiculous than Mari. She sat off to the side, the only spectator of Zokugaku. "Well, Hiruma. Ready to die?" Habashira approached me, sticking out his weird tongue of his. Mari had once told me he had it surgically altered to look like that.

"Funny. I was going to say the same to you." I snorted, looking into his beady yellow eyes. Contacts. Mari had told me that, too. I don't know why she had wanted to be with a guy who wanted to look like a chameleon.

Habashira looked around the field at the team, then noticed something was missing. "Where's Mari?"

"Houston. She's living with her father now."

He caught me off guard, tackled me to the ground and almost knocked me unconscious. "You bastard!" He had a good tackle, I'd admit. I shoved him off of me and knocked him to the ground. "Why would you let her go back? You were supposed to take care of her!"

"What, you leave her then pawn her off on me? I don't think so." I stood up, walked away. "Her mom's dead. She has no reason to stick around here. Leave that shit for the field."

Everyone was suited up and ready to play, in formation on the field. Habashira looked like he had reached his boiling point, ready to kill someone, anyone, me. It was easy to judge they'd keep trying to Blitz, put me in the hospital. I was right. I'll admit, his first tackle hurt, but I had already handed off the ball to Eyeshield, and Habashira was too bent on trying to smash me into the ground to notice. It was an easy touchdown. "Fatal mistake, Habashira." I mumbled. And because of his anger, we won the game only using handoffs and simple passes. "Way to just throw the game." I said as I walked off. "You don't let anger get in the way of the way you play."

"You can go tell Yousuke Suzuki then. He was her best friend. You thought I was fucking pissed, just you wait. Here's his address." Habashira scribbled down an address on a piece of paper. I read it carefully and immediately realized he was staying in an Ojo dormitory. Then, just to piss Habashira off more, I crumpled it up and threw it to the ground. The pink haired girl stared at me and reached for Habashira's hand. This was his new little trashy girlfriend. And despite the fact that he was standing right there she winked at me and gave a little wave.

"Hey, no one likes a fucking tease." I called after her, walking off of the field. I stepped into the locker room and peeled off my gear. Before stepping in the shower, I got a good look at myself in the mirror. I was bruised and torn apart everywhere. It was a mixture of the Death March and Habashira. I stepped under the steady waterfall and let shampoo and soap seep into my cuts. It didn't hurt too bad, and it felt good to feel pain on the outside instead of the inside. I was sick of being a pussy, thinking about that bitch of an eggplant. I was dumb enough to let her be the one who left me instead of the other way around.

I stepped out of the shower and dried myself off quickly before shoving my clothes over me and walking off of the school grounds. Anezaki stood in the direction I wanted to go, waiting for me. I walked right past her and ignored everything she had to say.

"Stop it." She finally growled. She gripped my arm with her nails right over a bruise and I wanted to hit her so bad, but I was better than Apollo than to hit a defenseless girl. "We're going to see Suzuki. He has a right to know."

"_He has a right to know._" I mimicked. "Then where the fuck has be been the past few months? He wasn't here when her mom died, he wasn't here when she got sick, he wasn't here when everyone in fucking Japan knew we were playing against her very nightmare. He wasn't here when everyone knew we were boarding a plane to America."

"Shut up." She hissed, grabbing my arm tighter. "I'm getting fed up with you. Just because _she _left _you_ doesn't mean you need to treat everyone else like this. And if you loved her _so _much, then this-" she motioned between us. "wouldn't have happened."

"This-" I motioned between us. "meant nothing to me." Mari- I thought, meant everything to me. And Suzuki was important to her, so I followed Anezaki to the dorm of boys who didn't have anywhere else to stay but were either here because they were incredibly smart or athletic gods.

Suzuki was the first one I saw in the common room. He looked different. He was definitely the tallest on the team, and his wide shoulders and strong arms looked more intimidating. His dark brown hair was still long and messy, his eyes narrow and brown. He peeked over at me and smirked. "Well, if it isn't Yoichi Hiruma. Please tell me you brought Mari?" He looked around, but frowned when all he saw was Anezaki.

"Actually, Suzuki. That's what I came here to talk to you about." I beckoned him forward and he stood up reluctantly. When I had him close enough that no one could hear, I opened my mouth to speak. "Her mother died and now she's living in Houston with her father. And the Fall Tournament is coming up… I need your help getting her back here."

"She's living with her _father?_" His voice rose into a feral snarl. He reached forward and punched the wall behind my head. "Fuck." This was the first time I had heard him swear. "What were you thinking, just letting her leave like that?"

"I didn't just let her leave like that." I admitted. "I tried to get her to stay, but it's the law. She's seventeen years old and the parent who had custody over her died, therefore she had to go to her father."

"Yeah, and you're Yoichi Hiruma. You can blackmail anyone and everything. I'll find a lawyer, and you go back to America and keep an eye on her. We still got plenty of time before the fall tournament."

"Who is going to train my team then?" I demanded. There was no way in hell I was going to throw away my last chance at the Christmas Bowl. Mari would kill me. Kurita would kill me.

"We have a coach, and we have me." Anezaki spoke up. "Go and keep an eye on her."

I nodded and called the first airport for a one way ticket to Houston, Texas. I was reluctant, but if Apollo beat her up once, he'll do it again. Only when she least expects it...


	8. 7: Home: Leonard Apollo

**(Okay, it's been an even longer time since I've updated (About 6 months [I've been going through some pretty heavy shit]), but I really feel like I should push through to finish this. I have a feeling this will be about twenty chapters, and if I feel that more needs to be added, I guess I'll make a Heartshield 03? Also, I realized I keep jumping back and forth on Mari's age, and I honestly can't remember if she's supposed to be sixteen or seventeen, so I'm going to go with seventeen.)**

* * *

**Heartshield 02**

**Chapter 7 - Home**

**Leonard Apollo**

Upon returning home (and being severely tired from Jet Lag), I was happy to see that Maria and Vanessa had been getting along wonderfully while I was absent. After my sleep schedule was regulated, I woke up to find my wife and daughter sitting together at the kitchen table going over Maria's school papers. "Your father would rather die than see you on the school's football team. How are you going to stay in shape?" Vanessa's voice was softer and sweeter than Maria's. She put her tan hand over Maria's olive colored one as she spoke. "There's a girl's soccer team, Volleyball, softball, basketball, ooooh. Cheerleading. You can do cheerleading. You'd make a perfect catcher."

"I'm too short and I don't cover enough space. Too heavy to be a flyer because of my muscle mass. I can do acrobatics though." Maria shook her head. "I'd have to dye my hair back if I decide to do sports though." She ran her fingers through her hair. "Feel it. It's dead. I've bleached it and dyed it so much."

"Why did you go back to purple, you silly girl? I liked the red."

"I guess it was more of a big 'fuck you' to Hiruma and Leo. They both hated it." Suddenly, she looked uncomfortable. "Vanessa, Can I ask you something?"

"Anything, honey. I told you that." And sweet Vanessa looked concerned. From the moment I told her that I was bringing Maria home with me she was excited. She wanted to know everything about her from her favorite color to how she liked her eggs. Of course, I didn't know any of those things. The only one she would speak to was Jeremy unless she wanted something, which was extremely rare.

"When Jeremy and Dad left, did he say anything about having me come back home? Did he talk to you about taking my mom off of life support? Because when I came here, everything was set up for a seventeen year old girl."

Truthfully, I had everything planned out. I knew it was going to happen. Maria didn't know that even if Haruka did wake up, she wouldn't be able to function without a nurse anyways. She had a seizure, and when she went down she hit her head so hard that it bled internally and fucked her up so bad I was surprised she was still alive. She wouldn't have been able to walk or talk or even move for that matter. She would have been stuck eating baby food and other awful things if she ever woke up. I prayed that nothing like that would ever happen to Maria. If she wasn't able to do sports, she would die. Haruka was the same way. If she wasn't helping someone or contributing to society in some way, she would have been unhappy.

I watched Vanessa. She didn't know what to say, and I shook my head when she spoke the truth. "Yes. We knew it was going to happen." She looked so sad and faraway as she looked right into Maria's eyes. "Mari. Your mother was really sick. And despite everything that happened, your father really loved your mother. He still does. I know it."

"If he loved my mother, he wouldn't have taken me and ran back here when I was seven. He was the one who left."

While this was true, I had my reasons. Haruka was a very talented doctor. She had gone back to school after she had Maria, leaving her with her parents in Japan. (All this of course happened when I was out of the picture. She left me the first time because I already had another child) This woman left me with our four year old child after we got married and was never home. Maria barely knew her and spent all of her time clinging to me. This part, I'm surprised Maria doesn't remember because she was the one who told me. Dr. Suzuki was a fellow surgeon at the hospital and Maria would often go to the hospital day care and play with his son Yousuke who was the same age as her. Even as a child, Maria had a mischievous personality and when Yousuke and the other children were engrossed in the television, my very smart seven year old snuck off and began exploring. She came home and asked me what it meant when two adults "hugged each other naked" and I of course laughed.

"What made you ask such a thing, Maria?" I had ruffled her hair but she still looked distressed.

"I saw mommy hugging Yousuke's daddy in the closet."

Those sweet, innocent words came out of her mouth and she shook her head. "That's bad, isn't it, daddy?"

I couldn't believe it. I had told Vanessa that very story and she looked like she wanted to tell Maria, for the tears were running down her eyes but Vanessa didn't want to ruin the love that Maria still had for her mother. "Your dad took you because he loved you very much. Your mom was too busy to do so herself and your father couldn't find a job in Japan. He brought you back because he received a call from X high about their searching for a football coach, and they'd pay him an unbelievable amount if he worked at the university too. So he took you and I believe he had Jeremy at the time as well, and came back here." She stood shakily to her feet and placed Maria's papers in her purse. "Maybe we should take these to the school now."

At this moment, I made my presence known. "You've done enough for today, Vanessa. Enjoy your day off." I took the papers from her and looked at Maria. "Come on."

She wordlessly followed me to the car and sat next to me in the front seat. Her hardened expression told me that she didn't want to speak, but she did. "Can you take me to a hair salon after this? I'm chopping it off." She gathered her crazy, purple hair. She hadn't cut it since her eleventh birthday, not including trims.

"Why?" I asked, backing out. "You love your hair."

"It's fried. It's cheaper to get color stripped and hair treatments when your hair is shorter." She rested her feet on the dashboard and reclined her seat back.

"Are you sure it's what you want?" I stared at her. She nodded and I continued my way to X High, Private School.

Adrienne Powell, the principal met us at the door and shook Maria's hand. "How cute. She looks like you." She smiled and it quickly faded when she realized that Maria didn't take this as a compliment. Maria did look a lot like me. She and Jeremy had my mother's red hair but my green eyes and freckles and scowl. She had her mother's slightly tanned skin and eye shape, my nose, her mother's lips, my personality. "Are you going to do any sports?"

"Cheerleading this fall, Volleyball in the winter, Track in the spring." She said, kicking her toe into the floor. We continued into the office and went over Maria's files.

"Oh my. You're way ahead. You're at least a year ahead where you're supposed to be. This is your Junior year. You've taken enough advanced classes to be put ahead as a senior." She continued to flip through the files. "You're fluent in Japanese? Impressive. I wouldn't expect any less though, being half Asian. Says here you were expelled from Hirajaku for breaking school rules. Care to elaborate?"

"I played on the boy's American Football team despite the Board of Education rules not to. I didn't get caught, I lost a bet to a friend from Deimon that if I lost the game against his school that I would have to unmask myself in front of everyone. We lost." Maria looked away.

"Then you were sent to Deimon. You were the trainer for the Deimon Devil Bats. You have an interesting football history. You're not going to pull the same things you did with Hirijaku will you?"

"No…" She looked at the floor. I rested my hand on top of hers.

"It's against the rules for her to play in games, but Maria will be practicing with us. Just so her talents don't go to waste. That isn't against the rules. She won't be put in danger, and she obviously has parental consent."

"Alright. Everything's set up. She can start Monday with the rest of them." Adrienne stood to her feet, shook Maria's hand and dismissed us. After we left, I took her to a hair salon as promised and let myself walk around the rest of the mall. There I found Jeremy, Fitzgerald and Panther in the food court talking. I heard bits of their conversation as I approached.

"Yeah man, it was so creepy. I feel like someone's watching the house." Jeremy laughed.

"Now that you have two babes laying out by your pool, the creepers will come." Fitzgerald snorted. He then noticed me. "Oh hey, Coach A. No Vanessa or Maria?"

"Maria's getting her hair done and Vanessa's at home. She just signed another contract with some stupid cosmetics place and she won't be home as much anymore, so she's trying to enjoy these next few days the best she can." I joined the boys and sat down. "Maria's enrolled in school, and Jeremy, she's in your grade this year."

Jeremy sputtered. "What? She's a full year younger than me."

"She was in school in Japan. She's probably way past the criteria for eleventh grade." Panther murmured. "She's crazy smart."

"Wouldn't expect any less from her. She got the best traits from her mother and I. Her mother's brains, my brawn, our cunning." I sat around and talked with the boys for about an hour until I saw Maria again. When I saw her, I nearly choked. Her hair was back to the strawberry blonde it had always been, and it was straight, which was something else I wasn't used to. And instead of it being down to her thighs, it was just past her shoulder blades. She just looked so different. Fitzgerald awkwardly stood to his feet and smiled at her.

"Hey, Mia. You look good." He held out his arms and she hugged him. Jeremy and Panther hid their snickers and whispered something to each other.

"Hey guys, my hair actually feels kind of like hair again." She smiled and ran her fingers through it. "My head feels so light."

XxX

For the first day of school, not only did Jeremy and Maria have to be up early, I did too. Vanessa was all the way in California and if the kids wanted breakfast, I had to make it. I opted for burnt toast and over cooked scrambled eggs. Vanessa left a message on the answering machine wishing Jeremy and Maria a good day and good luck. The two of them came down the stairs around the same time. Jeremy's hair actually looked brushed, he replaced his glasses with contacts and he wore a yellow and white polo with khaki shorts and flip flops. Maria opted for a pair of shorts, a gray off the shoulder half sleeve shirt and sandals laced halfway up her shins. Her hair was straight and brushed carefully. I knew Vanessa would approve of them. Maria spun around and looked at me. "How do I look?"

"Great." I clapped my hand on Jeremy's back and to both mine and Maria's surprise, I kissed her on the top of the head and sent them out. I honestly didn't have much of an explanation as to why I treated my youngest child so badly. I was jealous, I was angry at her mother, I wanted the talent she had to go to Jeremy. Although he was an impressive wide receiver, he wasn't as strong or durable as Maria who could take hits as well as she dished them out. I was jealous because I knew Maria would be famous. A girl quarterback as smart and beautiful as her would go far. It made me mad that she wanted to go to college for Sport's Medicine instead of going for the NFL, it made me mad that things were just handed to her and Jeremy had to work for them. Jeremy wasn't born as smart as Maria, he had to study hard. He had perfect grades only because he stayed up late while Maria barely did any work and still matched him in intelligence. It was a jealousy thing. She had all the things I wanted my oldest son to have.

I watched as Jeremy pulled out of the driveway with her in the passenger seat and gave them a wave. Suddenly I felt regret for everything I had put them through. I had two of the best kids anyone could ask for, and while I spent all my time beating the one, I ignored the other. I stared at a portrait of my two children and I that Vanessa found "too precious not to put up" and smiled. I had a five year old Maria on my shoulders as Jeremy and I sat on the dock, one of my arms around him while he fished in the water. I really did have the two best kids in the world and I suddenly wanted nothing more than for them both to love me as much as I loved them.


	9. 8: Fitting In: Mari

**Heartshield 02**

**Chapter 8 - Fitting In**

**Mari Tanaka**

I didn't have a problem adjusting to new schools. I had been in daycare, I've been in elementary schools in both Japan and America. My father didn't pull me out of school until I was ten. Then I went to three different schools in the course of two years. X High was no different. I was just happy that we didn't have to wear uniforms. Like the previous schools I went to, this one also had two floors. I knew it pretty well because Jeremy had me memorize the map of the school and where all my classes were before I came. Sadly, I wasn't in homeroom with any of my friends. Fitzgerald, Gonzales, Spencer and Watt were all the way from Apollo when it came to the alphabet (I wasn't able to get away with the name Mari Tanaka anymore. Everyone here knew I was Maria Apollo).

In homeroom I just sat quietly and stared out the window. Said "here" when roll was called and ignored curious stares. "Apollo." Someone said, approaching my desk. "Are you by chance related to Coach Apollo?" I looked up at the girl who stood over me. She looked ridiculous and I almost laughed. She was practically orange and her bleached blonde hair looked like it had been teased to hell and the poof that she had made out of her bangs rivaled that of a Jersey Shore cast member. Her chest almost hung out of her tiny sequin tank top and her shorts were halfway up her ass. I found myself wishing Yoichi was here to make fun of her with me.

"I am." I looked up into her huge blue eyes that she caked with makeup and fake eyelashes. I then noticed the "Barbie" necklace she was wearing and almost died of laughter. "I'm his daughter."

"Oh, so you're Jeremy's sister. Should have known." She touched my red hair and smiled. Her teeth were pretty, I'd give her that. Probably from braces. "Well, Maria Apollo. My name is Summer Brooklyn, and I'm the captain of the cheer squad. You're pretty and you look toned." She placed a hand on my arm. "You're also skinny. If you're interested, we're having tryouts tonight. If you can do what's asked of you, then you're guaranteed a spot."

I honestly wanted nothing more than an easy senior year of fitting in after everything that had happened, so I sold this pretty fake blonde my soul. "Are all the other girls as sweet as you?" I returned her overkill smile and crossed my legs.

"Of course! We only let ten girls on our varsity squad at a time, just letting you know, evened out between seniors and juniors. For tryouts you have to have your hair back, no make up, white shoes, white ankle socks, a blue or yellow shirt, gray shorts. So basically your gym class uniform. Make sure you smile, dear. I'll be choosing. Toodles!" The bell rang and she skipped off with a group of people that either were just like her or aspired to be her. I just sulked off to my English class and found a back corner to sit in. Panther slid in the seat next to me.

"I heard you met Summer." He said calmly.

"How'd you find out so fast?" I asked.

"She was giggling with her little group of friends. 'Oh! Maria's such a darling thing. She'll definitely make the squad.'. Whatever you did, she's pleased with you. Oh, and there she is." He pointed and Summer was in the other corner of the room sitting with Fitzgerald and other members of the football team.

"Maria! Panther! Come sit with us!" She sang out, making someone in the desk in front of her move. Throughout the class, she whispered comments about the other students in the room and asked me tons of questions and told me things about herself. Summer was the daughter of Dr. Samuel Brooklyn and Mrs. Tammy Lynn Hodge-Brooklyn. The child of a surgeon _and _a lawyer made her the richest girl in the school. She lived in a huge mansion like house two blocks away from us and although she was well off, she worked a part time job at the Hollister store in the mall. And she was so _mature_ and _elegant_ that she didn't waste her time on petty high school boys. She was in a serious relationship with the barista at Starbucks in the mall who was going to the university to become a music therapist. He was a _sophomore_ and had _the cutest dimples_ and _silky blonde hair_. "What about you, Maria? What kind of guys do you date?"

"Football players. Quarterbacks, to be specific." Panther teased, nudging her. "Guess she likes guys who can make a fast pass." He winked.

"Ooooh. Homer is a quarterback." She rested a hand on his strong arm. "Have you two met?"

"She's just as much my best friend as her brother is. Mia and I go way back, don't we?" He gave a shy smile . Fitz was extremely attractive. He was tall and very strong and could lift me with one hand. His blonde hair was always soft and groomed and his chin strap of facial hair was always the right length. He had a heart of gold and although he was cocky and very vain, he always treated girls right. I loved Fitz, just not in the same way he loved me.

"Miss Apollo, Miss Brooklyn, and company, are you going to talk the whole time?" The teacher broke our conversation. Mr. Daughtery was his name. He was cute, y'know, for a teacher. Too skinny and not very athletic though. We quieted down and I looked out the window. I wondered how my dear Devil Bats were doing. I did research and their first game was against the Amino Cyborgs, a bunch of steroid using assholes. Pffft. Medical Science my ass. Without hard work and practice, they wouldn't have the same stamina and determination as the rest of them. Or the speed. Kobayakawa would just blow right past them. And Kurita and the rest of the line were definitely tough, if they remembered to push with their hips as well as arms. I looked out the window and out onto the street and almost swore I saw Hiruma standing there. But when a bus passed, he was gone. I shook him from my mind and went through the rest of the day.

XxX

Going from quarterback to cheerleader was a difficult transition, but I managed to buck up and do it. Before going into practice, we were able to go over the routine a total of three times. One break down, one where we just kind of followed along, and a third where we had to make sure we mastered it. It wasn't hard to move yourself to a shitty pop song and pop out your butt like a high school skank. I was only doing this so I could be up close and personal with the football games. Summer, a teacher that chaperoned the cheer squad and my own father all sat at the panel. Cheerleaders had to be pretty enough (judged by Summer), know the moves (Judged by Miss Kitlin), and have the spirit (judged by my father). The whole football team sat on the bleachers and joked. None of them took any of this seriously. They just wanted to see what girls they'd get a shot with once they made the squad and which ones to make fun of when they failed. The junior girls did their routine first, and seven were pulled forward, advancing to the next round. Then they did the routine again. The five who did it flawlessly were picked. The seniors were under more pressure. Only four would be picked and their routine was more difficult. I stood in a line with at least fifteen other girls. We all looked the same in our gym uniforms and our hair pulled back. I was appalled by the athletic ability that seemed to be missing in the other girls.

Their toe touches were pitiful and lacked any vertical, roundoffs where sketchy, one girl couldn't even do a cartwheel. I hoisted a smaller girl in the air, two hands holding up her whole body, set her back down again. Thank God that I was pulled forward with ten other girls. This time, we were all stood in a line. "Spread Eagle." Miss Kitlin demanded, chestnut colored ponytail swinging as she paced the room. "Good timing." She nodded. "Pencil!" She nodded. All were safe. "Hurdler." One girl stumbled. "out." She pointed and the girl slowly walked away. "Summer. You're turn."

Summer stood up and looked at us all. She looked serious and hardened. "Herkie?" She looked at us. One girl fucked up and bumped into someone else. She walked away. Then there were eight. "Tabletop." Seven. "Pike." Five. "Power jump." Then we had our four. "Congratulations Lacy Stevens, Mysti Myers, Maria Apollo and Alice Peterson." She clapped her hands together. "You'll be fitted for uniforms tomorrow. And in addition to being this year's football cheerleaders for the local season, you'll be guaranteed spots in the basketball cheerleading squad."

I leaned towards Lacy Stevens, the only other African girl of the group. "Why are they picking cheerleaders already into the season?" I asked. "Shouldn't that have been done in July?"

"Aliens were in Japan." She sighed. "Late start on the season I guess. It's mid august though. We're not that late."

I nodded and everyone cleared the football field so that the team could practice. I sat up in the bench along with a few other spectators and found myself rather impressed with the team my father had. Jay went home in his own car and I found myself staying behind and talking with my father as we prepared the field for the next day. "Who knew that a football player could make such a good cheerleader?" He joked as we walked towards his car. The sky was turning a sweet shade of dark blue and the air was cooling down a bit.

"I make up for what I lack musically and artistically by being a sports freak." I shrugged. I couldn't really sing. I mean, I wasn't terrible, but average. I couldn't play an instrument to save my life, or act, or paint. As far as I got artistically was sketches and people told me I had potential, but I didn't care about art unless I could use it to relate to football, which I did when I made play cards for the Devil Bats when I first joined their team. But seriously. I knew sports and food. The end.

"You're definitely not what one expects for a girl your age." He said as we drove back towards our home. I was actually having a real conversation with this man who I considered to be a monster. Even worse, I was getting a weird happy feeling inside. I couldn't believe any of this. It was all too good to be true. Had my father honestly turned a new leaf? Were things going to go back to the way they had been before he and my mother divorced?

Letting your guard down is a fatal mistake.

* * *

**Reviews? D: Also, I'm going to try and update often.**


	10. 9: Teenagers: Hiruma

Heartshield 02

Chapter 9: Teenagers

Hiruma

After a week of watching Mari and trying to find ways to prove Apollo was an unfit parent, I had nothing. I watched her stepmother return from a photo shoot in California and go out and tidy up around the pool. I watched Apollo himself play catch with Mari in the back yard, I saw a stereotypical blonde American girl drop her off in front of her house in a silver mustang convertible. I noticed she was coming out of her shell. She was losing what made her hard-hearted Mari and I knew that if I didn't intervene soon, I would never be able to get her to return home with me.

I made my decision to come out from the shadows the night of the Apollo pool party. I watched them all, fake little girls with tan little bodies in bikinis all the colors of the rainbow, large shouldered football players trying to show off who was stronger. Mari and Vanessa sat on lawn chairs in the corner. Mari herself wore an emerald colored glittering strapless string bikini with a white cover-up sweater. Big sunglasses covered her eyes; her hair was tied in a messy bun. Someone had their iPod plugged into an amp. Jeremy and Apollo were setting up a fire in the fire pit. Normal teenagers. I watched as Panther pulled Mari up from the lawn chair and they danced together by the poolside. They were both good dancers and it was at that moment, I decided to take my leave. She finally had the life she wanted where she had money and her daddy's affection and she wasn't forced to fight or scrape up enough to barely get by. She was the pampered daughter of a football coach rather than a player on the field. I had to get out of there. I couldn't watch that anymore.

I turned and began to walk down the street, but I felt someone put their hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Apollo standing next to me. Somehow he had moved from the fire pit to where he and Watt had been building a fire to my spot by the fence without being detected. "Wait." He said without anger in his voice. "Are you here to take her back?"

I snorted. "She obviously isn't going to want to go back. You got what you wanted."

"Look at her." He said, shaking his head. "She's changing. She stopped going to football practices ever since she started hanging out with those cheerleaders. Her talent is going to waste. I'd rather have my daughter across the sea playing a game she loves than have her here becoming a girl she isn't." He let go of my shoulder.

I didn't want to listen. She was already too far gone. "Nothing I say is going to change her." We continued to watch her. That's when I saw a guy slowly walk up to her. He had longer black hair and he was very tall and thin. "Who is he?" I asked.

"He's our second string tight end." He said, not giving a name. I watched him approach her and loop an arm around her waist, and Panther let him dance with her. He was a raunchy dancer and I saw him get too close to her behind. She gave him a warning shove and said something. He just laughed and jokingly threw his hands up. For about a minute, everything was fine until he pressed himself harder against her, holding her in place. He looked around. Of course Apollo wasn't in sight, he was next to me, and Vanessa was in the house. Everyone else was too busy dancing with someone else. It had gotten darker. I watched him put his hands all over my Mari and put his mouth over hers.

She broke away with that agility I had once seen on the football field and she punched him right in the gut, causing him to double over. "I fucking told you no." She said, stepping back.

"You little bitch. That body of yours is scarred to shit anyways. No one is going to want that." He looked down at her and snorted. "Look at you." He pointed to the large scar on her stomach. "Do you sit in your room and cry and cut yourself? Did your daddy not want you? Is that why you haven't been around until now? Or did your street trash boyfriend back in ching chang land beat the shit out of you because you're a little prude?" Not a single person moved forward to protect Mari's honor. A few of the cheerleaders giggled, but the football players looked uncomfortable.

"Justin, Man." Fitzgerald shook his head. Fitzgerald, Panther, Jeremy and the Gonzales brothers stood in awe at the words coming out of his mouth. "You're off the team."

I wanted to kill him, but Apollo held me back. "What are you doing?!" I hissed.

"Just wait."

Mari took a step forward. "I'm sorry I'm not Barbie." She laughed. "I may not be beautiful, but I can kick your ass." And before anyone could move, she had him tackled on the ground. She hit him in a way that threw his equilibrium off. That's how Mari was able to take people down although she didn't quite reach their weight or height. She knew how to throw someone off balance. She was punching him now, her fists connecting with his face in all kinds of different angles. There was blood on her hands. And all at once, she just stopped and pulled him off the ground. "Now, get the fuck off my property before I tell everyone that you wet the bed up until you were twelve. Oh. Oops." She laughed that maniacal Mari laugh and sat down at the bar. She then directed her eyes to a blonde girl whose busty tan body was breaking out of a tiny pink bikini. "And Summer, since you and your merry band of whores found all of this so funny, you can leave too. Oh, and I really hope you keep the baby. An abortion is a terrible thing to have on your conscience." She was behind the bar now, drinking from her father's stash.

"Do yourself a favor, Mari." The blonde narrowed her eyes. "Go back to Japan. Don't let me catch you in another cheerleading uniform. Or even near my school."

Mari took a couple shots and set the glasses back down on the table and stared at her until she left. Other than Mari's closest football friends, everyone else thinned out and left to escape the awkwardness. Vanessa was standing in the doorway with gauze and was wrapping Mari's swollen and bruised hands. They were laughing about something and the boys joined in. "I think she's going to want to go back with you now." Apollo walked with me from behind the fence. "She's a Devil Bat and she needs you as much as you need her."

"I don't need her. She's just a really good strategist." I said, trying to save face. I stood behind her, waiting for her to turn around. She finally did after a few more shots. She turned and cocked her head to the side. She reached forward as if she was expecting me to fade away when her hand came in contact with my torso.

"Where's your fuck buddy?" She slurred, looking around. "Mama Anezaki." She was on her feet, pointing her finger in my chest.

"Shut up and stop being a jealous bitch. Fucking ginger." I shook my head at her and she stared up at me before she let out a laugh. It was the sweetest sound I had ever heard. "Are you going to come back with me or not?"

"Am I even allowed?" She looked over at her father, who smiled and nodded.

"I know you wanted me to prove to you that I love you and I've changed. This is my way of showing you. You just have to promise to come back." He stuffed his hands into his khaki shorts pockets.

"Okay." Mari turned to look at me. "I'll only come back under two conditions."

"Yeah, yeah. What are they?" I rolled my eyes, slightly annoyed. Was it not enough for her that I came all the way from fucking Japan when I was supposed to be training my team?

"Condition one, we go back to being roommates. I will _not _live with someone else. I fucking hate girls." That was an easy request. I still had our apartment and I would be able to make payments easily. "My second request is one I can only make because I'm drinking." She stared up into my eyes. "Kiss me."

I looked down at her. "Are you fucking serious right now?" I stared at her.

She laughed and rested her head against my chest. "I'm kidding, calm down. I just wanted to see your face."

"If I don't fucking shoot you before the night is over, we're leaving in the morning." I said, turning on my heel and leaving her behind. Mari was still a pain in my ass, but she was damn good at what she did and it would be a relief to all of us if she came home.


	11. 10: Working Together: Mamori

**Heartshield 02**

**Chapter 10: Working Together**

**Mamori Anezaki**

At 2 in the afternoon the Devil Bats were supposed to play against the Amino Cyborgs but Hiruma wasn't back with Tanaka yet. I looked at the clock. It was ten in the morning now. Our new cheerleader, Suzuna, sat next to me. "So who is this girl supposed to be?" She asked, looking at my notes. "Everyone mentions her, but no one will tell me who she is."

"I don't know." I shrugged. "She's my partner. While I manage the team and know all the rules, she works with me on strategies and plays. She was also the trainer before Hiruma brought back Doburoku. She used to play football until it got her kicked out of her last school."

"She sounds manly." She stared at me and I couldn't help but to chuckle. The more I thought about all that Mari did, the more I was surprised that she didn't look like a man. I continued to look through my strategies and plays. The Amino Players were twice as big as the Devil Bats and I didn't know how I could get them off balance. Kurita and Komusubi might be okay, but I was worried about the rest of the line. Eyeshield 21 would get flattened if I didn't figure something out. I needed to speak with Doburoku about what to do.

"Suzuna, I'll be right back." I rose from my seat just as the door opened. Hiruma's footsteps were silent as he walked into the room, hands in his pockets and a bubble protruding from between his lips. "What took you so long!? You missed the intro assembly and everything!" I found myself yelling at him. He looked tired from severe jet lag and he was obviously pissed off. "Are you even going to be able to play?"

"Come on." Was all he said, forcing Suzuna and I to follow him. He took us to Deimon's appointed practice field where I saw a familiar player standing in the middle of the field with members of the line all around her. Mari was padded up, sporting a new jersey. Number 2. Her red hair was cut short and tied back. She was holding her arms out explaining something before she put her helmet on. She rushed at Jumonji and knocked him down easily. As we stepped onto the field we could hear her yelling out instructions.

"They're all bigger than you. You have to throw them off balance." She said, tossing her helmet aside and stepping back from the field. She watched them as she practiced and approached me. "Mama Anezaki." She said curtly. She then looked at Suzuna. "Who are you?"

"Suzuna Taki, head cheerleader!" Stupid Suzuna said happily. "Who are you?"

"Mari Tanaka." She said simply.

Suzuna's eyes widened and she grabbed Mari's throwing arm. "I was expecting someone bigger and more muscular. You're kind of girly."

Tanaka's face turned red. I wasn't sure if it was out of embarrassment or anger. Instead of entertaining us with a response, she looked away and focused her attention on Hiruma who had just started to gear up. Just as he pulled on his jersey, the practice field was infiltrated by men dressed as doctors. They were large and muscular, commanding the attention of everyone on the field. Everyone slowly gathered around. Just when they had everyone's attention, they ripped off their lab coats and showed off their bare chests. They were the Amino Cyborgs.

"Wow." Mari breathed, staring up at the largest one. He had dark hair and very strange eyebrows. He introduced himself as Munakata. Hiruma rolled his eyes and murmured some smartass comment about body building.

"Muscle building at Amino is a science!" Munakata continued, showing off his muscles even more.

"So…Steroids?" Mari crossed her arms as they all began taking supplements. "You know those are illegal in American Football NFL rules, right?"

Munakata laughed and looked down on her. "What do girls know about professional football?"

"Her father played for the NFL." Monta came to her rescue, picking something off his gloved hands. His comment went unnoticed as they continued to brag about their sports medicine and how Amino picks one sport every year to be better at.

"Come on, Anezaki." Tanaka pulled at my arm. "We don't have time to listen to this trash. We have work to do that doesn't involve _sports medicine_." She mimicked the large man and pulled me out of the room. She had me follow her into the locker room. I knew she wanted to confront me, but instead she was going to make me wait for it. I watched her strip down from her jersey and pads.

I didn't know what to say to her, and I didn't know what she wanted to say to me. We had fought before she left and both of us had been childish and cruel. But I had only acted the way she acted, to do anything to get what I wanted. I did feel bad even though she had left through no fault of mine. I had tried to take credit for shaking her up, making her choke on her pride and leave the team.

"The players are forbidden to have relations with anyone throughout the tournament. They need to focus on football." Her voice was almost mechanical as she pulled a pair of tight black training capris over herself and stepping into her black running shoes.

The way she spoke to me made me angry. We were equals, and here she was reprimanding me like a child. I wanted to scream, to choke her, to do something instead of watching this…succubus pull a tight black tank top over her body. I don't understand what she had that I didn't. Normal guys would be intimidated by her, but Hiruma wanted to go after her like it was a challenge. She pulled on the team's black and red zip up and pulled the zipper just below her chest and fixed her hair in the mirror. She looked tired and worn, but still just as fierce and angry. "What's your plan, anyway?" I found myself asking her. "Is this so you can swoop in and do whatever it is that you want to do?"

"Mamori, think about what you're saying for a minute." She turned to face me, her eyes locked in mine. "You're a smart girl. So really think about this. I've lived with Hiruma for a while. I've had numerous chances to make my move. I've never kissed him, I never held his hand, I never even hugged him. That's because we respect each other's priorities. Our main priority right now is football and if you can't respect that and you're offering a distraction then Hiruma will remove you from the team. This wasn't my decision. It was his. If you have any questions then talk to him about it _after _the game. If I find out that you have stressed him out before he plays, I will come after you. You're the manager and I'm the strategist. And that's all we're allowed to be for the remainder of the tournament. I want you to respect and honor that."

She seemed genuinely serious, so I gave her my word. Until around one in the afternoon we did our research on the other teams and the bracket not speaking of anything personal. Our conversations stayed solely on the topic of football. We then found Suzuna and walked to the stadium together, still talking about nothing but football. I could handle Tanaka on this level. She was calm, cold and calculating. She wasn't mean, she had no snide remarks and she even sat between me and Doburoku on the bench. She was okay until Hiruma spoke.

"The game is about to start and that idiot and Eyeshield are missing." He said, pulling out his phone. He looked back at Mari. "Aren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on the players? Fucking stupid girl."

"Excuse me?" Mari was on her feet in an instant, finger pointed in his face. "I'm only responsible for them during practice. It's not my fault half of you decided to run here and the other half didn't. Maybe you should have kept better tabs on him, he's your ace."

He just smirked at her and answered his ringing phone. "You're in Nagano?" He asked, trying to hide the disbelief in his voice. "I'll send someone to come get you." He hung up his phone. "Call Habashira." He commanded.

"What?" She gasped in horror. "How dare you-"

"Eyeshield got on the wrong bus and they're in Nagano. Either you get over yourself and call him, or we forfeit. There's no way he'll be here in time for the start of the game, but if we get behind he can at least bring us back up."

Mari wandered off the field and began to dial for someone to help.


	12. 11: Running: Sena Kobayakawa

**(To make up for my slacking, here's THREE new chapters! I'm sorry they're not works of art, but I'm taking advantage of being on bed rest for a week to get as much done as possible.)**

**Heartshield 02**

**Chapter 11: Running**

**Sena Kobayakawa**

The pressure of being Sena Kobayakawa was difficult. I don't think anyone could understand. Until the rest of our team improved I knew that Hiruma placed all of his dreams on my shoulders to carry through because he couldn't do it on his own. I felt awful being late to the first tournament game as I clung to the back of Rui Habashira as we drove full speed towards the stadium. I was terrified of Rui Habashira. I knew our team could beat his over and over again, but he was still so intimidating. I couldn't help but to question him. "Why are you doing this? I know your enslaved by Hiruma, but aren't you in the tournament too?"

He looked back at me and laughed. "Enslaved by Hiruma? He let me go before you all skipped off to Houston. He wasn't even the one who called me. Mari did."

"Mari Tanaka?" I thought back to our other manager. She hated Habashira.

"Now don't get me wrong, there isn't anything I'd love to do more than beat Hiruma's face in, but there's no way I'm going to miss out on a chance to beat the shit out of his and Mari's team just because you don't know how to ride a bus." He turned to focus back on the road, leaving me to my own thoughts.

I didn't know how we'd get through this tournament without a more solid offence, or even a kicker. We had lost two games solely based on the fact that we didn't have a kicker. We rode in silence for about ten minutes before hitting traffic. The tournament was playing on a test TV in the window of an electronics store. They were in the second quarter and we were losing 00-07. I frowned. They were crushing Monta. Without me there, we had to rely solely on Hiruma and Monta's pass and catch. I urged Habashira to go faster and the speedster was more than happy to oblige. He ripped up the asphalt and reached speeds that I could only dream of reaching while running.

I could see the stadium billboard. We were only a few points behind and in the fourth quarter, roughly six minutes left. That's enough time to turn a game around. Habashira drove through the stadium, sending me flying onto the field. Through some wonder I didn't end up ripping up turf and managed to land in a way that didn't break my ankles. The roars from the stadium and my team filled me up with joy. When I was on the field I wasn't pushover Sena Kobayakawa anymore. I was somebody great, somebody that people wanted to be. When I turned to thank Habashira, I noticed his eyes were somewhere else. Mari Tanaka was standing across from his bike, her hands behind her back and her face solemn.

"Thank you." Her voice was as stiff as a board.

"I didn't do it for you." He replied. "I did it for me."

"I understand." She looked down. It was as if his words had an effect that disarmed her. "It was always about you. I see nothing's changed." She turned and walked back to her bench. There was no time to pay any notice to Mari's personal sorrows and troubles. It was time to get back in the game.

Hiruma devised a sweep. The line was to hold everyone out of my way, giving me a chance to pass through and run the ball without having to change speed and dodge. Then when Munakata tried to come through and block, I would use the Devil Bat Ghost, a move that would require me not to change pace and just cross one leg over to dodge, giving the illusion that I could run through someone.

When I reached top speed, the silence was deafening. I couldn't hear the crowd or the grunts and yells of the players behind me. I could hear my blood coursing through my veins, I could hear my hair grow, my footfalls rip up the earth, I could hear the wind in my ears and everything just felt perfect. It was a euphoric feeling that I don't think anyone but Seijuro Shin and Panther would understand. To reach top speed was like flying. I felt like I could outrun anyone or anything. I was speed, I was light, I was air.

I wondered if it was the same for the others. I wondered how the line felt when blocking, how Hiruma felt when throwing, how Monta felt when catching. What was it like for Mari when she beat the odds of everyone else and became a respectable player? I imagined it was all the same. Euphoria. Ecstasy. Those are the only words that could come to mind.

When I ran, I felt like the wind was carrying me. I was weightless and the ball was part of my body. When I crossed the end zone and forced myself into a stop, I felt like a reckless force. Almost unstoppable. When I got confident not even the largest Amino Cyborg could stop me. That's how we won. No one was going to break my will today. I was the one who broke theirs. I was born with something that steroids couldn't give them and that was what made me a superior player.

Deimon beat the odds. We made it to round two of a tournament that would eventually get us all to our shared dream. I was so proud of everyone. They really had improved and while some of the stress still lay upon my shoulders, it wasn't as overpowering as before. The line was incredible, Monta could run routes in his sleep, even Ishimaru was able to keep us up on the game with his elusive presence. It was victories like these when I wanted to rip off my helmet and have everyone see who Eyeshield really was, days where I wanted to tell overbearing Mamori to back off and let me have room to grow.

When I left the locker room to get on the bus to head back to Deimon, I noticed Mamori and Mari sitting side by side, the two of them looking at Mari's electronic tablet. "The Yuhi Guts." I heard one of them say. It was nice to see them working together. With Mamori, Mari, Doburuku, Hiruma and Yukimitsu, we had strong plays. They all had incredible knowledge.

I moved farther back in the bus and took a seat next to Monta who had received special medical attention from Mamori for almost being killed on the field. I felt so proud for my team coming together the way they did. But I couldn't get confident now. We still had much more improvement to make.


End file.
